This year, Fairstartmovement.org is launching the Tell the Truth campaign, calling on prominent social justice figures to acknowledge their failures as the climate crisis worsens and claims millions of lives.
At the root of these failures is the neglect of a fundamental issue: the impact of population growth and power dynamics on the success of their reforms. This oversight has consistently undermined progress, enriching a small percentage of mostly white families while causing devastating harm to communities of color.
For decades, activists including myself were discouraged from addressing this issue, allowing wealthy funders to exploit growth-driven inequities that fuel the crisis.
This is not a debate. Tell the Truth simply asks key figures to disclose how their advocated values have been systematically undone in the last three years as children entered the world without the necessary resources, further degrading ecosystems and eroding political representation.
Take Peter Singer, for example. He should acknowledge how his work in animal liberation—whether in terms of animal suffering, welfare, or rights violations—has been undermined by economic growth that primarily benefited his backers. Instead of relying on misleading projections for food investments, he should measure real harm using a zero-baseline approach that accounts for self-determination and the broader consequences of unchecked population growth.
Singer’s advocacy for Effective Altruism repeats this fundamental error, promoting a model of philanthropy that redistributes wealth gained at the expense of animals, the environment, and children’s rights. His framing of animal liberation has ultimately enriched a privileged few rather than meaningfully improving welfare.
If he truly cares about animal liberation, he must incorporate population impact into his cost-benefit analysis—something he has never done. Now is the time to start.
When we factor in the climate crisis, the numbers reveal the truth: his work has benefited investors in vegan food and other industries more than it has protected animals or vulnerable people. Intentions aside, Singer and others have contributed whether through negligence or omission to the same demand-driven growth that fuels environmental destruction. Unlike Exxon, which drives emissions through supply-side actions, Singer claims to advocate for animals while enabling the very system that harms them.
Animal rights claims are highly falsifiable when examined through real data. Will legacy and hype take precedence over preventing further deaths in this crisis?
Contact Peter Singer and urge him to tell the truth.
A real solution? Support UN-backed reforms that ensure future generations receive the wealth these failures have created.
This goes beyond greenwashing approaching fraud. As the death toll rises, legal systems are evolving to hold accountable those who facilitate the crisis through misleading narratives and omissions.
Click here to Donate to Fair Start Movement Campaign